The present invention relates to a melting apparatus which is particularly suitable for a case where a relatively small quantity of high-quality glass material is melted, for example.
The following methods (1) through (3) are conventionally known as a method of melting a material to be melted such as a glass material or the like, for example.
(1) A method due to indirect heating in which a crucible or a melting tank having accommodated therein a material to be melted is heated by an oil-fuel furnace, a gas furnace or an electric furnace which employs silicon-carbide resistant heating elements.
(2) A direct-energization method in which an electrode made of platinum, tin oxide, molybdenum or the like is immersed in a glass raw material, and electricity is caused to directly pass through a material to be melted, to heat-generate the latter per se.
(3) A method in which a platinum crucible having accommodated therein a material to be melted is heated by means of high-frequency induction heating.
However, the above-described conventional melting methods have the following problems, and are not suitable for melting a small quantity of high-quality glass material or the like, for example.